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A Neurologist Looks at Mind and Brain: "The Enchanted Loom"

Emeritus Physician, Department of Neurology, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin

REPRINT REQUESTS: Phiroze Hansotia, MD, Emeritus Physician, Department of Neurology, Mailstop: 1R1, Marshfield Clinic, 1000 North Oak Avenue 1R1, Marshfield, WI 54449, Email: hansotia{at}tznet.com

Abstract

For a long time, before we developed an appreciation of the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the brain, there was uncertainty as to the nature and source of the human mind. Philosophers linked the mind to mythical "humors" that controlled the human body, and others speculated that the mind was associated with "life-force" or soul. Few felt that there was a relation between the human mind and brain, but they had to wait for the Age of Enlightenment and scientific discovery in the 18th and 19th centuries to establish a clear association between the two. Three centuries ago Rene Descartes described the mind as an extracorporeal entity that was expressed through the pineal gland. Descartes was wrong about the pineal, but the debate he set off regarding the relationship between mind and brain rages on.

This review looks at the history of speculation on the mind and the development of ideas that have led to our present understanding of this phenomenon. The basic anatomy and physiology of the brain is reviewed to help us understand the brain’s association with the complex function we call mind. This is followed by a look at some syndromes that may result when part of the brain is damaged–the parietal lobe is arbitrarily selected as an example–and the resulting effect on the subject’s mind. This assists us in understanding the association of mind and brain, and also to better understanding its components, behavior, function and dysfunction.

Key Words: History of medicine • Neurophysiology • Developmental neurobiology • Parietal lobe • Mind